Gunman shot dead outside Florida courthouse

An armed man was shot dead outside a Florida courthouse in a standoff with police, requiring the lockdown of nearby schools and the court building, local media reported today.

An armed man was shot dead outside a Florida courthouse in a standoff with police, requiring the lockdown of nearby schools and the court building, local media reported today.

The gunman was spotted this morning in the street outside the Brevard county courthouse in Viera on Florida’s Atlantic coast, and gunshots rang out more than two hours later after police surrounded him, according to News 13 TV station.

Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey told reporters that the man pulled out a firearm but was contained by deputies before a SWAT team arrived and took over the situation.

Ivey described the man as “agitated,” but he was not immediately identified.